What is CPK Blood Test?
Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) is an enzyme found primarily in the heart, skeletal muscles and brain. This enzyme’s primary function is to convert the creatine into phosphate, which then gets consumed or burned up as a quick energy source by the cells of the body. In healthy adults, CPK blood test normal levels are somewhere around 12-80 ml (30 degrees) or 55-170 ml (37 degrees). In women these levels are slightly lower. However, when there occurs any kind of muscle damage, the levels of CPK enzyme shoot up. This is because when the muscle gets injured, the muscle cells burst open and spill out their contents into the bloodstream. Since a large amount of the CPK enzyme is present in the muscle cells, their splitting open results in spilling of CPK into the blood, thereby raising the levels of CPK present in the blood. A CPK test checks for the level of this enzyme in the blood. Elevated CPK blood test levels reveal that there has been some muscle damage in the body or there is some muscl
